Chocolates Are So Overrated
by NIchiki
Summary: Who the hell wants chocolates when I've got such a mouthwatering specimen? (Moved from Celestial Armoire)


**Chocolates Are So Overrated**

ElfLu

Rated M for some panty droppin action as Cana would say

**Disclaimer:** I've said it before and I'll say it again, I own nothing of Fairy Tail, except these little ditties.

* * *

"I still don't see what's the big deal about Valentines day." Cana grumbled, taking a healthy swig of her drink. "It's just another day for the stores to rake in a buttload of jewels courtesy of all the suckers out there willing to part with their money for cheap, sappy, heart shaped monstrosities."

"Cana! How can you say that?" Levy gasped. "It's the most romantic day of the year! The day when anyone can build up the courage to declare their love for that special someone." Her eyes darted to the side wistfully.

"Oh please," Cana waved her hand snorting. "They've obviously gotten to you." She let out a belch and rubbed her belly with a content smile, before giving the petite girl a look. "So, tell me then," she leaned in close to the script mage with a leer. "Is this the year someone sends that hunk of lead some chocolate covered metal?" She jerked her head in the corner where Gajeel was occupying.

Levy sputtered waving her hands in the air. "I-I don't know what you mean!"

"Oh stop playin' all innocent. If you were any more warm for his form you'd burst from being in the same damn room with him. In fact I'd bet you're thinking more along the lines of dipping him in the chocolate. In fact, who needs the damn chocolates when you've got that finely sculpted piece of ass to take a bite of!"

"C-Cana will you please quiet down." Levy hissed, glaring at the drunken brunette, flushing from the girls mental image her words brought to her mind.

The brunette laughed boisterously slapping her knee with delight, before pushing the girls shoulder roughly. "Oh, you are so fun to poke at, Lev."

"You know I hate to be teased!"

"I'll make a perv out of you yet girl." Cana snickered.

"Oh, don't pay any attention to her, Levy." Lucy piped up as she took a seat at their table, setting a smoothie on the table.

"She's just sore she hasn't gotten any for a while." Smirking at the brunette.

"Ha!" Cana propped her chair up on its hind legs. "Look who's callin' the kettle black ma'dear." She sneered back. "You're going through an even drier spell then I am."

"Au contrare. There was that one night stand with that devastatingly handsome mage from out of town." Lucy quipped.

"Lu, that was 3 weeks ago." Levy, replied.

"Eh? Well, how about that reporter from Wizard Times?"

"Two months."

Lucy faltered.

"See? Dry, dry, dryyyyyy." Cana sing-songed.

Lucy slumped back with a pout. "Sad thing is, the only notable one had been Mest. Now that's a man that knows what he wants and gives as good as he gets."

"Lucy, you slept with Memmbst?!" Levy's shrill exclamation tampered down to a mumble as Lucy slapped her hand across the girls mouth.

"Levy, not so loud!" She gently shook the girls head before letting go and sitting back down with an nervous giggle as several odd looks were shot their way.

"He's a member of the Magic Counsel and we both decided to keep it under wraps, cause we both don't need the media attention in our personal business."

"Wow Lucy, Mest eh?" Cana mumbled, tilting her head back as if trying to picture the pair in her mind. "Never thought you'd bag someone like him. He always struck me as too by-the-book to relax and have some fun like that, ya know."

"You of all people should know what a little liquid courage can do to people."

"Thank the gods for the liquid panty droppers!" Cana shouted raising her mug and a few boisterous laughs rose up around them, followed by several mugs.

"I'll drink to that!"

"You'd drink to anything Wakaba!"

"Damn straight!"

Giggling Levy turned back to the blond. "So how come you haven't been on any dates for a while Lu?"

"Well," Lucy started, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as she leaned back and glanced around them. "Let's just say I'm tired of one night stands." She leaned forward, her chin propped on her hand as she turned a wistful glance over to see Bisca and Alzack sitting next to each other in a corner, whispering and covertly giving each other fleeting touches. "I mean why can't I have something like that?" She nodded to the corner drawing the other girls attentions.

Levy blushed but smiled softly at the couple trying but failing to keep their hands off of each other.

"They really go good together don't they?" She sighed.

The sight even made Cana smile, albeit minutely. "Yeah, well they are a special case." She pulled her mug up to her face and eyed the almost empty cup.

"Why's that?" Lucy asked.

She spared the other two a look as she got up to order another drink, pausing briefly. "For as long as I've known those two they've been attached to the hip so it was natural for them to end up hitched. I mean at first they seemed to do nothing but nit pick at each other, ya know sort of like they couldn't stand each other, but that was far from the truth." She shrugged walking away. "That's just the nature of things. Sometimes you find someone that you can't stand to be around and argue like cats and dogs, but underneath all the bullshit, there's an attraction that the bickering covers up. You work with someone long enough you're bound to like something about them in the end, or you end up murdering them. Love, hate; two sides of the same coin."

Lucy pursed her lips in thought. "Soo, what she means is if you're stuck with someone long enough it doesn't matter who it is, you might just end up liking them, even if you seem to do nothing but argue?"

Levy tapped her bottom lip with a finger as she nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. But there's no way it's that easy."

Lucy brows scrunched giving her friend a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. If all it took was being around someone for long periods of time to fall in love with them, then wouldn't it stand to reason that your team would already be in pairs already? Not to mention everyone else in Fairy Tail."

"Oh right," Lucy laughed. "There's just so much more to this romance thing then there should be." She thumped her head on the table, her voice muffled by the wood.

"I mean come on! Can't anything be simple. Like just for once can I have a situation plopped into my lap? Where I am stuck with a handsome man whose kind, considerate, funny, doesn't take any shit from anybody else and at least a small bit mature? Then we would have to work together as we battle our love hate relationship, throwing insults at each other when secretly all we want to do is slam the other person into the wall and screw them senseless."

Levy coughed slightly, a small blush on her face as she laughed softly. " I think there's also the fact that even though some people can feel that instant attraction, one or more of them might fight against it for one reason or another. But nobody can fight attraction for long without cracking in the end. Unfortunately, something like your scenario would most likely only happen in a fairy tale." She smiled as Lucy turned to pout at her from the table top. "Here in the real world, nothing is ever so simple and if it is, it usually isn't real."

"Yeah well," Lucy huffed. "A girl can dream can't she?"

Both girls were too absorbed into their discussion to notice a figure move away into the shadows as they stopped talking.

* * *

Lucy stood in front of the Masters desk, wondering what he could've possibly wanted from her. She hadn't done anything wrong. Team Natsu hadn't blown up another town, at least not to her knowledge, so what could he want? Just then the door opened and shut behind her.

"Ah Lucy, thank you for coming child." The diminutive man stated as he disappeared behind his desk, only to reappear on top, sitting next to a rather large pile of papers. Makarov beamed at her and picked up a parchment. "Have a seat my dear, I have a few things to go over but first we need to wait for your partner." He said, gesturing to the seat behind her.

Lucy blinked. _'Partner? Did he mean...'_

"You mean Natsu's going to do a mission with me?" She asked, settling herself into the arm chair and crossing her legs automatically.

"Hmm? Oh no my dear, this mission is a bit more shall we say, delicate, therefore he won't be going." He stated with a grin and a twinkle in his eye.

"Ah," Lucy nodded wisely. "Little less destruction, a little more discretion."

Makrarov chuckled. "Indeed."

"So, who's my partner then? Gray?"

"No, Gray doesn't exactly fit the description this mission entails."

She arched a brow. "Ok, so who does?"

"Well..."

A knock interrupted them followed by a distinctly male voice.

"Come on in. Doors open!" Master bellowed.

Lucy's gaze swung around to see a very well built figure step inside and shut the door behind him. He met her gaze for a fleeting moment, before stepping up to the desk.

"Mira said you wanted to see me, Master?"

"Yup, have a seat my boy while I go over the details."

Elfman nodded and took the seat next to Lucy meeting her eyes for a brief moment and she smiled shyly in greeting, making him grin back before they both turned their attention back in front of them. He was so much more reserved and sort of quiet then what she usually saw him as, but then she thought that most times he was loud and shouting about manly things was when the rest of the guild was rowdy and fights were breaking out around them.

_'This must be his more serious side that he uses for missions and serious situations.'_

The Master cleared his throat. "I know you two haven't had any missions together as of yet, but this one seemed right up your alley."

He jumped off the desk and handed each a parchment. "There's been some threats made to a certain well known family that has them on edge. Due to the insistence of the client and the delicate situation of the circumstances none of the crucial details of this are listed anywhere on paper. This will be kept close to the vest, and I know I don't have to tell you that no one can know about what is discussed here."

Both nodded solemnly.

"Master, this doesn't have an estimated time." Lucy interrupted.

"That's because of how delicate of a mission this is and we don't know just how long it's going to take you to complete it." He paused and she nodded for him to continue. "As you can see from the last name this is quite the influential family so discretion is going to be the key here. From what I can gather the father owns quite a lot of real estate and businesses and has made quite a few enemies in his time, so naturally he's been threatened before. However this new threat is directed at his daughter and they'd only just managed to foil a kidnapping attempt on her life not too long ago. Hence the urgency of this request for help."

"I understand the man is fearful for his daughter, but what's that got to do with us? Shouldn't the local police handle this instead of us?" Elfman grunted, confused and Lucy nodded in agreement.

"While you're correct that the local police force would usually handle this matter, the people threatening this family happen to be a small group of rogue mages. Therefore the father was advised to essentially fight fire with fire."

"So, what will we be doing then?" Lucy asked, still rather confused. She could certainly be sneaky and discreet, but the giant of a man sitting next to her would be about as inconspicuous as a mountain getting up and walking around.

The Master turned to her with a mischievous glint to his eye.

"Like I said before, I think you'll find this mission right up your alley my dear."

* * *

Lucy grumbled as she was poked and prodded for the umpteenth time that night, biting the inside of her cheek to not smack the hands away.

"Oh, the likeness is simply uncanny, Ginny." Two family maids gushed as they dressed her like an oversized doll.

"If I didn't know any better I'd swear she was a long lost twin." Came the reply.

"Alright Miss, give us a turn."

Lucy obliged, turning slowly as her evening gown flowed around her softly. The corset underneath was currently making breathing deeply damn near impossible, the high heels pinched her toes, the pins holding her hair up kept poking her skull and her garters were threatening to go south with every step. Long story short, she was miserable dressed up like a high society princess and she was grumpy. She'd ran away from home to get away from crap like this and now she'd just found herself right back where she started. As the two chatty maids escorted her out the door Lucy cursed her corset once again only to stop mouth agape as Elfman strolled up to her clad in a very expensive looking tuxedo. He had the same eyes and gave her a small grin under the magic disguising his usual features, but she wouldn't have recognized him if not for the familiar warmth she saw in those eyes when their gazes met.

_'Wow, he certainly cleans up nice.'_

"You look very handsome." She whispered and giggled as he blushed a bit and grunted, offering her his arm, settling a large hand atop her dainty one as she complied. He escorted her down the huge staircase and paused as she was announced to the huge party below.

"You look beautiful tonight, Miss Sarah." He replied gruffly, his eyes not landing on her as he did his job of keeping a lookout for anything suspicious as her bodyguard. It was stressful situation they found themselves in as they not only had to sniff out potential threats, but they also had to remain in character for the deception to work. They both felt the danger rolling around in the air and they knew it had the potential to blow up in their faces at the slightest mistake.

Lucy smiled softly, inclining her head as they moved through the crowd of people, acknowledging various hellos and praises on her attire. For the sake of this mission she'd be posing as the kidnappers target, hoping to catch them off guard in the event they would be making their move at the party that night. Elfman had been recruited as her bodyguard and no one could question his presence at her side since the young woman always had someone with her no matter where she went.

In a way Lucy was grateful that at the end of the day, after all this was over she could go back to being plain old Lucy from Fairy Tail and not stuck in those constricting clothes she used to be dressed in. She supposed it had been the Masters idea to utilize her for her background and her impeccable manners that had been ingrained in her since childhood. She knew he meant no harm, but it was still unsettling being reminded of all she left behind, if not a bit creepy. It was a rather considerable stroke of luck that she did indeed look so much like the young heiress that posing as her wouldn't be much of a problem for her. She would just be glad to go home after all this was done.

Lucy stopped by the refreshment table and sipped on a cup of wine as she took in her surroundings casually.

"If you see anything suspicious let me handle it Miss." Elfman's gruff voice broke through her musings.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "I'm a big girl Gaven, I don't need to be coddled." Snapping back, irritated they were having the same conversation yet again.

They'd already gone through this many, many times on the train ride over. Him saying to leave everything to him and not to worry. Her bristling, telling him she could take care of herself in any situation and she wasn't weak. Lucy had never worked with Elfman before but she never would've suspected he would act like this. It almost seemed like he was being overprotective, just like her regular team sometimes did and it didn't sit well with her one bit.

She was just as strong and the rest of them, just in different ways. She was by no means a shrinking violet who would cower at the sight of a monster, so being treated like she was an inferior female rankled her to her core. That's how she'd been treated while growing up at home. Always dismissed by the men around her, not good for anything then a pretty face and producing sons to take on the family name. A head full of air atop a pretty body.

It was disgusting and she wouldn't stand for it, not from anyone.

"Miss Sarah, it's my job to take care of you so please, don't do anything rash." He had turned slightly to catch her eye and she could see he was tense, trying to convey without saying too much that something was amiss and to listen to him.

Lucy knew he meant well, but he had no clue just how much his treatment opened old wounds. Her retort died on her tongue as her attention was snagged by a couple standing across the way giving her covert glances.

Oh they were good indeed. The perfect disguises, all decked out in finery and if she hadn't spotted the woman's guild mark on her upper thigh as the slit in her dress moved briefly, they would've slipped right under her radar.

So, they thought they could snatch her and get away with it did they? Let them try, it would be a painful lesson they would not soon forget. Quickly thinking up a plan Lucy set her empty glass down and placed her hand on Elfman's arm gaining his attention.

He leaned down a bit to get into earshot and because he was so tall he practically had to bend in half to reach her. "I've spotted two across the ballroom at 12 o'clock. One male, one female, extremely suspicious glances."

He kept his eyes straight ahead as he noticed the pair she described in his peripherals.

"You sure?" He rumbled.

She huffed and pinched his arm lightly earning her a small glare. "I noticed a suspicious guild mark on the woman, not to mention they seem to be shadowing our movements around the room."

He nodded slowly. "I may have a hard time taking down two mages at once without drawing attention, especially since we have no idea what their powers are."

"Let me take the woman."

"What, no absolutely not!" He hissed back, his eyes darting back to her. "You're supposed to be posing as an heiress and heiresses don't go around running after bad guys and beating them up."

"You can't take them both on at once, you said so yourself." She snapped back. Why wouldn't he just let her help? "Come on, let me do this. I can take care of her, I promise!"

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Look," she started. "We can't make a big scene since the client wants this all kept hush hush, right?" She waited until he nodded. "Then why don't you let me lure the woman away, while you try to corner the man in one of the hallways here? It would definitely be easier to subdue one person then two."

"We can't risk it Lucy. We don't have full intel on this group and we have no idea of just how many of them are out there. We need to do some more surveillance before trying to take them out."

She twisted her lips and dug her nails into his arm in annoyance. She was momentarily surprised at the cough he let out that suspiciously sounded like a groan and studied him for a moment taking in his tense muscles under her hand, much like a tiger coiled and ready to pounce. His eyes widened showing off dilated pupils, but she shrugged it off as just him getting ready to do battle as he seemed to compose himself. But she couldn't help but notice how he moved his arm out from under her hand to straighten his bowtie and clasped his hands behind his back.

_'Interesting.'_

"Well, what do you suggest then, Mister Gaven?" She saw him stiffen as she pressed closer to him in order for their conversation to remain private and frowned.

_'Why is he acting so weird around me? Do I stink or something?'_ Doubtful, they'd sprayed so many scents on her person she was sure she'd smell like she'd bathed in the damn stuff.

"Give me a few minutes." He replied tersely.

Lucy scowled and rolled her eyes, thinking his panties were in a bunch because she wasn't just going to do whatever he said. She knew she was acting like a spoiled brat, but she couldn't help it. This 'manly' attitude of his was driving her up the wall and she every time he pulled this protective crap with her she had to mentally restrain herself from introducing his nuts to his chin via her knee.

Suddenly a brilliant idea came to her and she hid a small smile, knowing it would tip him off. Hopefully the woman would take the bait and follow her and then Lucy could take her down without a problem. That would show Elfman she could take care of herself.

"Mister Gaven?" Her voice came out sickly sweet and she could see him stiffen so hard she thought his back would snap in two. His eyes darted to her and she could see the the gears turning in his mind, wondering just what was rolling around in her head now.

"Yes, Miss Sarah?"

"I'm going to use the ladies room, will you excuse me please?"

His eyes widened and she could see he was panicking that she would be leaving his side unprotected as he grasped onto her wrist while she was turning away.

He managed to get back in control of himself with an embarrassed cough and straightened, letting her wrist go as a few eyebrows were raised around them at his display. "You cannot leave my sight my Lady." He sent her a stern look which she brushed off.

"Oh nonsense Gaven, you are much too paranoid!" she scoffed loudly seeing the couple they had seen earlier had moved closer to them.

"I am only going to freshen up a bit and I shall be right back."

"It is not permitted my Lady." he gritted out and she could see he was trying to keep calm and not shout at her which made her lips curl in delight. She knew how to deal with people in this society, but she wasn't about to cut him any slack since he wasn't doing the same for her.

Before the argument could continue a small voice piped up from her elbow and the pair turned to see a young maid they hadn't seen before. But then again only a few were privy to the inside information so as to not have any leaked to potential enemies. After all they had no idea if the mages had managed to infiltrate the employees or not.

"I-I could escort her to the bathrooms, Mister Gaven." She was so small and petite that she couldn't possibly help if anything were to go awry in the bathroom, but before he could protest Lucy intervened.

"See? I have a lovely escort so you have nothing to worry about." She turned to go when he caught her elbow and she gritted her teeth but kept her smile as she met his eyes.

"Yes, Gaven? Can I help you?

"I cannot protect you while you are in there Miss. At least let me escort you to your personal chambers to freshen up."

"Oh nonsense," she scoffed shaking off his hand. "Why should I go all the way upstairs when there's a perfectly good ladies room right down this hall?"

She turned to the maid and smiled. "Shall we?"

The girl bowed and scurried in front, leading the way, which made Lucy frown for a moment. Maids were supposed to always follow behind, not in front but she shrugged wondering if perhaps this household was ran differently. She started when she noticed Elfman was right behind them and shot a glare over her shoulder.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" She hissed. "You cannot mean to go into the ladies room?"

She couldn't miss the dusting of pink over his cheeks, but he met her eyes nonetheless, a determined light staring back at her.

_'There's that determined stubbornness again.'_

"As your bodyguard it falls to me to make sure you're safe at all times." He stopped to swallow heavily. "So I will be inspecting the washroom before you… freshen… up." He barely got the last two words out with a hoarse sounding voice.

She almost laughed out loud at his bashfulness of going into the ladies room if she wasn't so damned annoyed. Lucy rolled her eyes as they stopped in front of the door and waved her hand.

"Fine, fine. Just make it quick alright?"

He nodded and his spine stiffened once again before he went inside. She could hear the banging of doors and wondered just how fast he was moving, only to arch a brow as he reappeared moments later looking slightly flushed and refusing to meet anyone's eyes, instead finding the ceiling very interesting.

"All clear my Lady. You may proceed." He bowed slightly as the maid went inside and Lucy paused at the door to whisper in his ear.

"Keep an eye on the two out there and see if you can't spot any more, alright?"

He nodded as he moved to back to the main room but stayed close to the opening of the hallway, keeping his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to keep watch on the door and trying to spot the couple from earlier. Elfman frowned when he could only spot the man as he moved to the balcony and took out a cigarette holder from his pocket. It was an ideal situation really, except for the fact that his stubborn partner was in the bathroom unprotected, but still he couldn't let the opportunity pass him by and slipped out the door behind the man. Not a sound could be heard as the man was subdued, tied up and thrown into a side shed they had readied earlier, knowing that if they needed it they would have a safe place to store a hostage, or two.

Lucy sighed as she studied herself in the mirror and pulled out her lipstick from her clutch.

"H-He seems very protective of you Miss." The little maid whispered out.

Lucy smiled and shook her head. "A little too protective in my opinion."

"M-Maybe he's just on edge from the threats?"

The blonde nodded, blotting her lips. "That most certainly could be. However, there are hundreds of people here and security is airtight. I doubt anything could slither in without my father noticing." Lucy winced slightly, finding it a little too easy to slip back into that haughty role she'd had to deal with all those years ago.

The little maid stepped closer. "Oh, I wouldn't say that." Her voice went a bit deeper and the stutter was suspiciously absent which sent alarm bells ringing in Lucy's head. She had a moment of panic as she turned slowly, noticing the little maid no longer had her uniform on, instead it had been replaced by nondescript dark clothing, fit for an infiltration.

_'Shit!'_

Her fingers barely brushed her keys before something hit her upside the head and her world tilted sideways, a black curtain fell over her eyes and knew no more.

_'Dammit, there was more than two of them!'_

* * *

It had been too long. Women normally took a bit more time in the restrooms than men, but this was ridiculous. There was no way to identify all the players in this game if the target was not in sight. Elfman sighed and moved to knock on the door.

"Miss Sarah?" The knock echoed in the cavernous room.

"Miss Sarah are you well?" He tried again. A thousand scenarios ran through his head. Maybe Lucy wasn't feeling too good? Maybe she was just having a conversation with the maid. Maybe she was just being stubborn again and trying to irritate him. He decided to give her a few more minutes then knocked again, opening the door a small ways.

"Miss Sarah, I'm comin' in." He announced and frowned as not a sound replied. He slipped in and pushed the embarrassment aside as he went into his professional mode as he moved through the room, searching the stalls only to stop as something glittered on the floor near the vanity. He crouched down picking up the object and cursed seeing familiar looking keys and a small spot of blood next to them. He sprang up, eyes darting everywhere in the room, certain now that his partner was in real trouble as he pocketed the keys.

A window on the far side of the room caught his eye as the curtain ruffled in the breeze. He stalked to it and threw the curtain aside, studying the windowsill and noticing a few sequins similar to the ones Lucy had on her dress stuck in a crack on the sill. Leaning over he could spot a dent in the bushes below, and knew somehow they had gotten her out that window. He glanced around noticing that while the window was effectively blocked from anyone's point of view, the yard was surrounded by tall brick walls with nowhere to go. He had to act fast, time was of the essence. So crouching down he jumped out the window, landing in the same bush and looking around. Flattening himself to the side of the house he craned his neck to peek around the corner, spotting what looked like a gardeners shed, narrowing his eyes.

They hadn't thought anything of it as it wasn't easily accessible, but seeing a shadow move along the interior he knew no gardener was trimming the roses this late at night. He made his way slowly over to the shed.

"I'm coming Lucy, hold on."

* * *

Very slowly the fog lifted from her mind as she struggled through the haze that bogged her down.

_'Where am I? What's going on?'_

Lucy struggled to remember just what the hell she had been doing only to freeze when unfamiliar voices echoed around her. Suddenly the mission came back to her full force and she had to force herself to stay still. She could feel her heart rate pick up from the panic but forced herself to keep breathing evenly, hoping she still looked unconscious, hoping to learn where she was and who they were.

"What do you mean you can't find Clyde?" One hissed out. "He was just in the ballroom not ten minutes ago with me and he should still be there now."

"I don't know where the jerk is!" Someone answered, and she recognized the voice of the would be maid. "I am telling you the asshole left his post again. Maybe he left to take a leak."

"Shit this isn't good. He's got the communication lacrima and without him we can't contact our getaway driver."

"We'll just have to wait for a while to see if the jerk comes back."

"We can't do that! Once they notice she's gone they are going to be scouring the house and grounds looking for her. No, we cannot delay. We need to keep moving and find another way out."

"What about Clyde? We can't just leave him. They're gonna notice he's not on the guest list and interrogate him."

"You think I give a shit about him? I was worried about the damn lacrima, not his ass." the woman sneered back. "The bastard knows this is an important mission and if he screws up he gets left behind, no exceptions."

The other girl laughed. "Man, that's fucked up!"

"Shut up, that's what the boss said, now we've gotta get her out of those clothes and into something she won't be recognized in. Help me undress her."

"Tch, fine."

Lucy stiffened, but forced her muscles to relax as she was manhandled, rather roughly she'd say and humiliated as they stripped her of her gown leaving her in just the slip she wore underneath.

"Man, half this shit would sell for a ton of jewels on the black market. You think the boss would notice if I nick her ring?"

_'Oh no, no no no. Anything but the ring.'_ She wailed to herself. The ring had been enchanted with runes to conceal her guild mark on her hand as it would've been a dead giveaway of who she really was.

The other woman scoffed. "I doubt it. With the jewels this one will fetch us he can afford to overlook a few things. Take the damn thing."

"Fuck yeah! Bonus!"

Lucy tried not to panic, but her breathing sped up as the ring was ripped from her finger.

"Will you quit dancing around and give me a hand...here?" Lucy stilled as the woman's voice trailed off. "Hey… hey shut the fuck up and come here!" She hissed to her partner.

"The fuck do you want now? I'm helping dammit."

"No, its not that. Look at her hand."

"What about it?"

"Look, something is starting to show up on the skin."

"Hey, you're right. The fuck is that? A weird birthmark?"

"You idiot, would a birthmark just magically appear on her skin like that?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"It looks like a guild mark."

"Hey yeah. I know that mark, that's the mark of the fairies!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"What's your problem now?"

"Don't you realize what this means?"

"She likes fairies?"

"Gods you're fucking stupid! No you idiot, this isn't who we thought it was. We've been tricked!"

"What!?"

Thinking she had been found out anyways, Lucy rolled to her feet awkwardly and pushed her back against a wall, giving them a rather impressive glare.

"Well look at that, the fairies awake." The supposed maid sneered as she slipped something out of her pocket and snapped it open with a flick of her wrist.

Lucy paled, noticing it was a switchblade, but moved her unbound hands in front of her anyways.

"Guess you didn't hit her nearly hard enough, Celia."

"Shut up you fucking idiot. No names!"

"What's the big fucking deal? She ain't gonna live long enough to tell anybody."

The other woman laughed at the blonde's bravado and smirked. "You really think you can take the both of us on, fairy?"

"Try me, bitch." Lucy hissed back.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You're gonna be eatin' those words, fairy trash." The woman threw something down in front of Lucy.

Lucy's eyes went wide and she doubled over coughing as the smoke burned her eyes and throat.

"Get her!"

There was second before the women lunged at Lucy and she felt a sting across her cheek as she tried to dodge their kicks when a loud bang sounded through the room and the sudden weight was lifted from her body.

_'What was that?'_ Lucy looked around as the cloud dissipated, her eyes widened spotting Elfman hog tying one of the women and pressing the other down, his knee lodged into the small of her back. It was the tiny maid under his knee cussing up a storm and as Lucy finally caught her breath she advanced upon the woman, drew her arm back and gave her a wicked right hook, knocking her out.

Lucy winced and shook her hand as she stepped back. "Looks like I got the last hit, bitch."

She turned to the man who pretty much saved her ass. "Thanks Elfman, I owe you one..."

Her voice trailed off as he turned to give her a look that sent shivers down her spine. His jaw was tense as he never took his eyes off of hers and she just knew she would be getting an earful. She opened her mouth to defend her actions but he held up a hand to stop her.

"First we deal with this lot, then we'll talk." He unbuttoned his coat and handed it to her.

"Cover up. You're gonna catch a cold in just that." His voice was gravelly as he hoisted the women over both shoulders and stalked out of the hut, leaving a furiously blushing Lucy to wrap the coat around her and scramble after him. She felt so embarrassed, not noticing that she was in practically nothing right in front of him.

* * *

They ended up handing over the rogue mages to the local police and instructed them to contact the Magic Counsel to send someone to retrieve them and ventured into town, booking into a small hotel.

The whole time they paid and walked up to their room Lucy cringed, hearing every one of his steps echoed just how mad he really was. The silence was overwhelming in that she could feel the atmosphere around them crackling with barely concealed anger. She felt apprehensive as he unlocked the door and gestured for her to precede him into the room, knowing that once that door closed, hell would be unleashed. Idly she wondered if she made a mad dash down the hall how long it would take for him to catch up to her. She resolutely hung her head thinking he would probably have her before she took two steps and then hog tie her just to get her to it still and listen as he reamed her out.

Lucy moved into the room and jumped as the door was slammed behind her, whirling around to find Elfman was standing not a few feet from her, giving her a look she had never seen on his face before.

Chewing her lip, Lucy tried to think up anything she could say to diffuse this situation. "Look Elfman. I know I messed up, bu..."

"Don't." That one word said a dozen things to her in that moment. But still she couldn't just let it go. It wasn't all her fault, well ok maybe a majority of it could be attributed to her argumentative attitude and not listening, but he wasn't all innocent in this either. She stayed still however when he pulled a bandage out of his bag and dabbed at her cheek before applying it against the small cut she had gotten there.

She clenched her hands and glared right back. "Look, I know you're pissed ok? But I'm not gonna apologize for trying to help with the mission."

"Help?" His voice was going dangerously lower with each word he uttered as his hands dropped, finished with patching her up. "You think you were helping?" He sounded almost dumbfounded at her words.

"Yes, I was helping!" She shouted, throwing her hands into the air. "I am a part of this mission too dammit and I wasn't about to take a backseat just because you were being stubborn!"

He advanced on her and she couldn't help but shrink back a little. "YOUR HELPING NEARLY GOT YOU KILLED!"

"Don't yell at me you jerk! I had every right to try and help lure the woman away. How was I to know that maid was in on it the whole time?!" She stilled and realized too late that she'd said more than she should've.

"You mean you went into that bathroom knowing she would follow you?! Are you insane?!"

"No! I don't know… maybe?"

"You idiot! Because of your stubbornness and carelessness you were almost kidnapped or worse!"

"I just wanted to prove to you that I wasn't weak dammit. I can take care of myself… I can!" She trailed off, holding back a sob. The nights events were catching up to her and she could barely hold back the emotions that welled up in her throat.

_'I will not cry. No I refuse to cry dammit.'_

He had gone really quiet and it was making her nervous, so she looked up to see him trembling.

"Elf..."

She was cut off by a pair of lips slanting across hers, moving insistently across her mouth like a man starved. Lucy pushed against his chest, and whimpered as his large hand came up to grasp the back of her neck and angled his mouth deeper over hers. The barely suppressed adrenaline from earlier making itself known as she refused to just stand there. With a groan she gave as good as she got, devouring his lips, pulling his body close to hers like she was afraid he would disappear any moment. He pulled back after a few minutes and nipped at her bottom lip, resting his forehead against hers, their eyes locked. His other hand had pulled her body close to his and she could feel every ragged breath he drew into his lungs, the rhythm matching her own.

"W-Why..."

"Do you know, how scared I was when I couldn't find you? How terrified I was when I thought I would be too late?" He rasped, his hand resting on the side of her neck, his thumb smoothing over her jawline, sending tingles through her skin at the contact. His other hand moved to her hip and was drawing soothing circles.

Wordlessly she shook her head.

"I've only ever felt that helpless and scared two other times in my life, both of which involved my sisters."

Lucy's eyes widened as his words registered in her mind. Was he saying?

He groaned low as she shifted and inadvertently rubbed her belly against him, the sound shooting straight to her core as all of the tension that had built up over the mission came crashing down upon them. She was no fool, nor was he apparently. All through their arguments and spats they had a fire that burned hotter and hotter with every heated word passing their lips. The air was palpable between the couple, thick, heavy, making their clothes feel so much more constricting than before.

Their breathing grew ragged with each inhale, as the unspoken words hung in the air.

_'Do I want to? Should I?'_

She could see that he was teetering on the edge, but was still waiting for her to say yay or nay. It was up to her whether they went further or walked away and never spoke of this again.

_'Screw it, I'm tired of being alone and I'm not passing up on this.'_

With a small moan Lucy grasped onto the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss him senseless. Elfman let out a groan and slide his hands down her body, slipping his coat off her shoulders, leaving her in just her slip and panties. The coat had barely hit the floor when he hooked a hand behind one of her knees and lifted her leg around his hip, bucking his length against her panty covered core. The action prompted her to break from the kiss with a startled cry and arch her back as she hoisted herself up, wrapping both legs around him.

"Gods Lucy." he rasped, swiftly turning around and pushing her against the closed door.

Lucy moaned softly as she managed to get his shirt unbuttoned and threw it behind him, rocking her hips against his, silently urging him on.

Elfman nuzzled into her neck, laving over the skin as he bucked back against her urgently, their hands moving in a frenzy as each divested the others clothing. Neither wished to take this slow. The urgency rushed through their heated blood as he slipped a large hand to cup her sex and wasted no time slipping two fingers inside, his thumb circling that hard button just begging for his touch. With every touch she could feel the desperation he felt at almost losing her and it fanned the flames inside higher.

Lucy cried out as her body twitched from the sudden pleasure. Her hands moved to unbuckle his pants and managed to shove his pants down his hips enough to free his impressive length and stroke the heated flesh, earning her a harsh cry from his lips.

"Ugh! I-I'm not gonna last. Let me inside you, please." He whispered hoarsely.

Impatiently she shoved her panties aside and smacked his hand away, leading his cock to her opening, rubbing it against her dripping folds. The action ripped echoing groans from both as he hoisted her higher, watching where she teased them both at her entrance. The sight was mesmerizing to his hungry gaze and his cock twitched with every stroke against the soft inferno that was her core.

Lucy guided him slowly inside as she slide down on his member, having to go slow from the sheer girth of him. Elfman's eyes never left where they were connected, pumping slowly inside of her gripping heat, groaning when every time he retreated he could see her wetness coating his length. The sight was erotic, almost hypnotizing in its intensity and he found himself slowing down to appreciate the view, but grunted in surprise as Lucy finally got impatient and slammed herself down, taking him all the way to the hilt.

"Fuck! Lucy!"

Her head whipped up, shock written on her face as she looked at him, catching his eyes as she started moving against him.

"Gods that was hot." She whispered, her nose sliding against his jawline as his grip tightened on her hips helping her move against him. "Hearing you say those words. I wanna hear more."

He faltered, but Lucy was having none of that and raked her nails down his biceps ripping a growl from his lips and causing his hips to start hammering against hers roughly.

"Oh fuck, that's good Elfman, more please."

He didn't know where this new found confidence came from but having this gorgeous woman whom he'd admired from afar at his mercy made his already hard cock swell even further. His hand slipped between their slapping flesh to rub at her swollen button as he took her harder, earning a harsh cry from her throat, her head slammed back against the door in ecstasy. Her nails dug deeper into his arms as she writhed against the door, turning him on even further.

He nipped at her jaw, kissing across her delicate throat as he breathed huskily against her hot skin.

"You like that Lucy? You like it rough?"

She shook in his arms, her walls rippling around him threatening to come undone at his actions and words, urging him further. "Tell me." He whispered against her ear, licking the shell.

He could see she could barely form any sentences as he grit his teeth and swiveled his hips. He knew he wouldn't last much longer, but he would make her come first, no matter what. He had to feel her walls contract around him.

"I know you like it Lucy. Tell me… tell me, do you like my cock inside you, fucking you? Rubbing your silky walls with my hard flesh? Knowing its me that's making you come undone?"

"Gods yes!' she yelled, no longer able to hold her voice. "More, harder I'm almost there!"

Her hands had moved to rake her nails down his back, making a fierce growl rumble from his chest, his fingers grabbed onto that throbbing button of hers and tweaked it just so as he pistoned into her depths. The strange pleasure pain sensations sent throbbing pulses down to his shaft.

"Come for me Lucy, I want to feel your walls clamp down on me." He whispered hoarsely in her ear.

The action sent her flying over the edge into that white world full of exploding lights, but no sounds. Her body shook as she cried out and he latched onto her lips to swallow her cries, grunting as her sheath strangled his swollen shaft, the rippling dragging him along with her. Breaking from her lips he panted against her neck as string after string of seed pulsed from his member deep into her womb. He managed to hold their lower bodies together through their earth shattering orgasms, giving a few weak thrusts before sliding down to the floor in exhaustion.

They could barely see straight from the abrupt ascension into utter bliss, but when they finally could focus on the world again and took in each others rumpled appearance, they shared a laugh.

With a soft kiss Elfman carried her, still intimately attached to his body as he helped her into the shower.

Lucy clung to him under the hot spray of the water and shivered as the suds rinsed from their bodies. "Ya know, I think you might have just spoiled Valentines day for me."

He arched a brow and smiled as he ran his fingers through her wet hair. "Oh and why's that?"

"Because after this Valentines gift, I sure as hell will never be happy with anything other than another screw against a door. Chocolates are so overrated when I've got such a mouthwatering man!"

* * *

** Hope everyone has a Happy Valentines Day!**

**(¯`·._.•NIchiki •._.·´¯)**


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